


Change Of Heart

by IamIronfan



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Endgame, Hurt Peter Parker, Irondad, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, POV Peter Parker, Peter Parker Angst, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Temporary Character Death, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamIronfan/pseuds/IamIronfan
Summary: Ever since Doctor Strange said five years had passed all he could think of was the wrenching pain of having been robbed of all that time. It was apparent now however as he stared into Tony’s tortured eyes that he wasn’t the victim, not really. He’d come back just the same after all. Perhaps someone who didn’t possess the enhanced senses he did would miss it but Tony, god Tony had changed.or a rewrite of the final battle where Peter snaps his fingers instead.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 11
Kudos: 183





	Change Of Heart

Peter wasn’t sure what was happening anymore. Honestly he couldn’t be positive of the fact that he was even alive. Surely people couldn’t live through the pain that had just wreaked havoc on his entire body, mind, and he was pretty sure his soul as well. 

No, he had to be alive, because memories were starting to bubble to the surface of his very jumbled up mind. If he was really dead surely he would be reminded of happy memories not bad ones, because right now all he could think of was Thanos. Fear gripped his chest in a physical sort of way.

_Ah, so he did have a body._

“Kid, come on you need to get up.” A voice said and he couldn’t be sure but he thought it might be vaguely familiar. He was too disorientated to put his finger on it though. 

“Kid!” The voice yelled again this time much less gentle in nature. There was an urgency there, but before he could decipher more out of the voice someone shook him with their hand. 

His eyes flew open in alarm, and suddenly he was squinting up at an unnatural colored sky. Titan. He was still on Titan. Doctor Strange appeared over his head though, so he focused on him instead.

Strange’s hand was reaching out to him and he took it as he reveled in the fact that he was back in his body at all. Once he was on his feet he looked down at his hands still wrapped in the Iron Spider suit. Even through the metal it was clear that they were shaking.

“Come on, we’ve got to go.” Strange said and Peter nodded, looking around as the Guardian's slowly raised themselves into sitting positions. They looked as disorientated as he felt. Tears were even welling up in the eyes of the alien girl. 

“Wait…” Peter mumbled looking around. This wasn’t right at all. Tony had been there when he’d faded away, in fact the last memory he had was of Mr. Stark. 

He looked around somewhat wildly, because Tony had been the only familiar thing to him since he’d stowed away on that awful donut of a spaceship, and that made his absence alarming. The terrain was wide and open, which made it plain to him that this planet was currently totally devoid of Tony Stark. 

“Where is Tony?” Peter asked his voice full of the anxiety that was filling his chest. Stephen helped Quill to his feet before turning to face him. Strange’s expression was thoughtful as he clearly contemplated how to answer the question. _What the hell had happened?_

“He’s not here, he’s on earth.” Was the vague response he gave, but Peter shook his head defiantly. That wasn’t possible. Tony had been here. 

“No. He was _just_ here when I passed out. He wouldn’t leave me here… unless something horrible happened.” He argued thinking of the awful yet incredible amount of power Thanos had displayed. Had Thanos come back for Tony?

“Look what happened to us wasn't just moments ago like it may feel like, we've all been gone for some time now. Thanos got the stones. He got all of them and he used them to wipe out half of all living life.” Stephen explained as he moved to help the biggest Guardian up, Peter couldn’t remember his name and frankly he didn’t care.

That explained the horrible sensation of being ripped from his body. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest as he thought of how many people must have suffered that same fate. Half of all life meant roughly four billion people on earth alone. Only, they weren’t alone in the universe as Peter now knew. There were other planets inhabited by people like the Guardians. 

So many questions hit him. How had Tony gotten back to earth? Where was Thanos now? Had May, Ned, or MJ been snapped too?

“Then how are we back?” Quill demanded, asking the most important question Peter had been too caught up to voice himself. 

“The Avengers found a way… it just took some time to reverse it.” Stephen said and he looked as if he had more to say but Peter cut across him.

“How long?” 

“Five years.” Stephen admitted regretfully and Peter sucked in a breath in shock. 

The thought of five years passing since Tony had laid him onto the ground as he begged to stay was unfathomable. Days or weeks sure. Months even. Holy shit five years though… that was so much of his life. His head was positively spinning thinking of it all. 

“Look that doesn’t matter right now because the fight isn’t over. Thanos isn’t happy they reversed it and there is another fight taking place on earth currently.” Strange continued adding to Peter’s dismay. “We need to get back to earth and fight. I’m going to open up a portal, but you need to be prepared for what’s waiting on the other side of it because it won’t be pretty.” 

“You want us to fight that asshole again? Did you _not_ see what happened to us last time?” Quill demanded in horror to which Stephan scoffed at. 

“It’s different now, it was just us the last time. This is everyone, and they need us.” 

“Let’s go.” Peter said automatically. If Tony needed him then he would go. There was too much on the line to let fear hold him back.

“Bring me to Thanos.” The other dude from the Guardians said, his voice calm but his eyes enraged. The Alien girl stepped forward as well. Quill stared at his friends for a moment before kicking a large rock in frustration.

“Fuck, fine, lets do this.” Quill said unsheathing a blaster from his holster and sighing dramatically. He would have laughed at this dramatic display any other time but he couldn't even manage a small smile.

“Then let's go.” Stephen said firmly and his hands rose as they twisted in strange, methodical circles. Orange sparks began to form as a portal formed out of seemingly nowhere. 

When Peter came out on the other side of the portal he was momentarily sure that he was dreaming again. The scene that met them was incredibly surreal. So much so that even though he was told he was back on earth he wasn’t sure how that could be possible. 

Nothing about what he was seeing was reminiscent of the earth he so desperately wanted to see. The sky was not blue, but instead a strange grey color as smoke and rubble floated through the air. There was no green grass or buildings he associated with home. There was only wreckage, and an army of aliens with Thanos at the head in the distance. The fight had already begun.

Looking further though tears began to well in his eyes immediately and involuntarily. It was horrible, and yet… beautiful. 

Orange portals were opening all around him, and people were exiting them suited up and ready to fight the same as he and his group from Titan were. There were hundreds of people appearing, maybe as many as Thanos had. There were familiar faces, and strange ones too. It didn’t matter if he knew them though, not really. There was a tense sort of build taking place within the group and in that moment he felt intimately connected to them all in their one goal. 

This was the fight of his life. _This_ was the Endgame Tony had always warned him about. 

Steve Rogers was in the middle of the growing group, and as Ant Man burst into his largest form the same way he had in Germany Peter thought he could see a trace of fear on Thanos’ alien face. The build was crescendoing now and Steve stepped forward.

“Avengers… Assemble.” 

Chills ran down his spine at the two simple words.

Everyone was running, flying, and he himself swinging. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He wanted vengeance for the lives and years that had been stolen. Thanos would not win again. 

He wasn’t sure how long he had been fighting until he finally saw the person he was most anxious to see. Mr. Stark was knocked down, and one of the bigger aliens was leering down on him.

“Not today.” Peter muttered shooting a web that promptly connected to his target. He tugged hard, pulling the monster away from his mentor before rushing over to Tony He didn't even have a care in the world to the fact that Ant Man had just crushed the alien with his giant foot. A sight that would have been quite intriguing under any other circumstances. 

"Karen, mask off please" He asked of his AI, sucking in a breath as his face was exposed to the fresh air. Well as fresh as air got when a building had just been blown up in it's vicinity. Ducking low he extended his hand to which Tony grasped for in an almost desperate sort of way.

As soon as he got the man to his feet, Peter was blubbering away before he could even stop himself.

“Hey! Holy cow! You will not believe what's been going on. Do you remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty? I must've passed out, because I woke up and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there, right? And he was like... "It's been five years. Come on, they need us!" And then he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does all the time…”

Ever since Doctor Strange said five years had passed all he could think of was the wrenching pain of having been robbed of all that time. It was apparent now however as he stared into Tony’s tortured eyes that he wasn’t the victim, not really. He’d come back just the same after all. Perhaps someone who didn’t possess the enhanced senses he did would miss it but Tony, god Tony had changed. 

Doing the math in his head he realized it had been roughly 1825 days since they'd seen each other. It was perplexing because for him it seemed as if it were just hours ago. It struck him then what Tony's guilt complex had done to him over that span of time. His handsome features were more lined and his hair specked with grey. Nothing quite did justice to the severity of the situation like Tony's eyes did though. Those brown eyes held immense grief within them. 

As he rambled on about how he'd gotten back though he saw Tony’s expression slowly change into one of relief and unmistakable love that took him by surprise. 

“Come here.” Tony murmured, pulling him into a tight hug. The confusion of it quickly faded away as he gladly sunk into the embrace. Battle raged all around them but he took a break from caring, instead taking solace in this moment. 

“This is nice.” He said and Tony laughed lightly, kissing him on the cheek. It made him feel childlike but after everything that had happened he could finally except that in many senses, he still was one. He unapologetically needed this moment, needed Tony. All their interactions before this had been about him trying to prove himself to his idol, and Tony fighting him on slowing down. For once that was all he wanted. To just slow down. 

“It’s not over yet.” Tony said pulling away and cupping his cheek, the metal of his armor cold against his skin. Peter nodded, knowing all too well how true that was. 

“Stay safe, please.” Tony muttered and Peter nodded. 

“You too.” He asked, although it came out rather like a plea. Tony smiled with a look of rekindled vigor lighting up his face before he blasted off into the sky ready to fight once more. 

_____

He was _tired._ There wasn’t a reality in which he wouldn’t have come and fought, but damn it if he wasn't beat down. The entirety of his body ached and protested with every movement he made. Desperation for this to be over was mounting, because even though they were fighting with everything they had Thanos was still putting up a hell of a counter struggle. 

A woman had even joined the fight. Crashing down from the sky just as it had seemed all hope might be lost. He didn't know who she was, but moment she’d crashed through Thanos’ ship it became clear that if there was a saving grace in this it was probably her. 

Yet as Peter located her on the field he saw that she was fighting Thanos head on. To his consternation however, it appeared that Thanos was managing to match her in their duel. Too much was at stake because somewhere down the line Thanos had managed to get the damn gauntlet back on his arm. 

Suddenly while looking around frantically to see what back up was left, he caught himself witnessing an exchange that was considerably worse somehow. It was odd because both Tony and Strange looked relatively calm as their eyes met yet Peter’s stomach plummeted as he watched Strange hold up one shaking finger in Tony’s direction.

Everything connected together in his mind suddenly. Strange had saved Tony back on Titan and somehow he hadn’t even given much thought to why the damn wizard would do such a thing. He'd just assumed it was because it was Tony, but Strange held no loyalty to Tony like he did. How could he be so stupid? Strange had been up front from the beginning that he would choose the time stone over them and that had never changed. Strange had never intended to save Tony, no he'd only saved him for the right time to die, and time had apparently run out. 

All five stages of grief seemed to play out in Tony’s wide eyes until they landed on the one that scared him most; acceptance. 

“No!” Peter murmured as Tony ran to meet Thanos just as the woman was thrown into the distance by a hard hit. 

He knew what would happen if Tony put that thing on and snapped his fingers to save them. Bruce Banner’s arm was entirely damaged and he was the freaking hulk.

He’d always built up Tony in his mind as the strongest of them all but the truth was he was human. No human would survive putting that thing on.   
  


It wasn’t fair, because damn it Tony had suffered enough in the past five years and he'd even found a way to bring them all back. 

Tony Stark was _not_ going to die if he had a say in it. He was done watching people he loved die, and just like that his mind was made up on what he had to do.

He was running now too. Faster than he ever had before in his life. Tony and Thanos each had a hand on the gauntlet as they tugged at it in opposing directions.

Peter whipped his wrist out once he was within a few feet of the pair. A web shot out and stuck to the shining red gauntlet. He pulled at the web with all the strength he could muster within himself. His enhanced strength, his adrenaline, his desperation to save the only father figure he had left. The gauntlet went flying through the dusty air and landed in his outstretched arms. 

There was no time to be surprised or impressed by the fact that he had managed to get it. It was time to end this for good. He slipped the metal glove onto his arm and mechanical clicks sounded as it fit itself around his much smaller arm in comparison to it's previous occupant. 

“NO!” Thanos and Tony both yelled in unison.

Peter looked up to meet Tony’s eyes which were filled with anguish. His mouth hung open in horror with the ghost of a yelled _no_ hanging on his lips. 

“I’m sorry.” Peter whispered as the stones lit up in their housing on the gauntlet. Pain like he’d never known ripped through his body, and he’d been shredded down into atoms just hours ago. It was more than pain though… it was power. 

_Keep everyone here. Just get rid of Thanos and his army. Keep everyone else safe._

Falling to his knees he snapped his fingers together. Blinding white light flashed across everything and the paranormal power whispered to him that the job had been done.

Slowly he fell back onto the cold ground, lying among the rubble. Tilting his head to the side he looked up to see the Aliens from Thanos’ army each slowly turn to dust and float away with the wind. Silence had filled the area for the first time since he’d arrived. It hurt to smile, but he did nonetheless because he knew it was over now. 

“Peter!” Tony yelled crashing down onto his knees beside him. Peter rolled his head to look up at his mentor who had left his suit and looked so human right now. It reminded him of why he had done what he’d done. His lips turned up again. 

“Kid...” Tony whispered, his eyes filling with tears. It was amazing how much emotion could be put into the word ‘kid’. It was a word that had once been spoken in annoyance at the teenager who caused him so much trouble, but now Peter had no doubt now that Tony loved him. 

He felt someone remove the gauntlet carefully from his arm but he didn’t have the strength to look down at who had done it. Instead he just reached out with his good arm for Tony who took his hand in between both of his own. The warmth was nice. 

“Someone get some fucking medical help over here!” Tony barked over his shoulder to anyone who would listen before turning back to him again.

“It’s over.” Peter whispered softly. 

“Karen, vitals on Parker please.” Tony asked softly. 

“Life functions critical.” the familiar voice of his AI answered. 

Ah he thought it might be that way.

Everyone he loved was safe from the Mad Titan though. If he had to go, this was as good of a reason as any. He just wished he could have seen May one last time. She would be okay though, Tony would take care of her.

“MEDICAL” Tony practically screamed, his voice breaking. 

When Tony turned back to face him again he felt a tear splash down onto his own cheek from above him.

“It’s okay, Mr. Stark.” Peter said softly, blinking up at Tony. Each time his lids closed it grew harder to force them back open.

“No, it’s not. I just got you back.” Tony whispered.   
  
People were talking above him now but he couldn’t focus on what anyone was saying. His vision was growing fuzzy, and everything sounded as if it was coming from far away. 

“Please kid… hold on..” 

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 will be coming soon :3


End file.
